Rustling on the floor tells me that he’s rising. Cautiously, I walk closer, holding my breath, but when he steps out of the darkness into the firelight, my blood curdles, and I freeze.
His chin dipped low, lips compressed into a scathing line, he comes to the gate and scowls at me through a gap in the iron. Thin, bloodied veins spread out in an eerie pattern beneath the skin under his eyes. Sweat drips from his brow, and his nostrils flare as if he can’t filter enough air through them to survive.
There, at the corner of his mouth, foam builds and runs down his chin as he drawls in a toxic tone, “That is what you think.”
Chapter 8
Jack
Riley’s eyes mist over in terror. Good. Let’s hope that’ll finally make her leave. Ever since she stepped foot into these dungeons, her scent has assaulted my nostrils. It’s a smell that pulls uncomfortable strings in my head. I want to pierce my fangs into her body and tear her tender flesh from her bones.
But she doesn’t run off. Instead, she stays rooted to the ground and murmurs some useless apologies that nobody cares about.
“Open the door!” I snarl, cutting her off, sick of her bell-like voice, sick of her frightened look, and most of all, sick of her pity. I’ve been in this vault long enough. I need to run. To hunt. To eat. Where the hell did Phillip go? They were plotting something against me before he left—I heard them, but in my rage to get to the girl, most of what they said was lost.
“Jack…” Her voice trembles. “I can’t let you out. It’s too—”
“Open this goddamned gate, Red Riding Hood!” I roar, grasping the iron and rattling it so hard, she ducks her head and throws her arms over it in panic. Is that what she does to protect herself? Pathetic. If there wasn’t this blasted gate between us, she’d be dead by now. Wolf meal. Bloody hell, I need to get out of here.
“There, there, Jack.” Phil’s taunting tone rips my gaze away from the girl. “We don’t yell at ladies in this castle.” Coming around the corner, the bastard smirks as if this was a stupid game we’re playing, and he just won because he brought backing.
Who is that guy in the black coat behind him anyway? I think I remember the shaggy, dark hair from somewhere, but I have no name to put to the tall man with the leather bag. His bushy eyebrows tilt, joining together as he examines me from a distance.
“Hello, Doctor Jekyll,” the girl greets him, sounding relieved as she shakes his hand. “Thank you for coming.”
At the name, something clicks into place in my head, and my grip tightens around the iron. “What the hell did you bring a psychopathic scientist for?” I hiss at Phillip, spitting foam.
“The doctor is here to help you,” he replies as he comes forward, his concerned gaze focused on me.
Fuck his worry! I reach through the gaps and claw at his shirt with my fingers. Unfortunately, I don’t get ahold of him because the bastard leaps back.
“Oookayyy…” His hands lifted, he turns around to face the girl and the psycho. “You better not get too close, doc.”
I stretch my neck, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
The stranger bends down and opens his black medical bag. Keeping a wary eye on me as he rummages inside the case, he asks Phil, “Are you sure this is just a case of tale denial, and that your friend didn’t actually catch rabies somewhere?”
“Come closer, and I’ll give you rabies,” I snarl, rattling the gate once more.
One knee still on the ground, the doctor concentrates on drawing dark green liquid into a syringe.
“What exactly is that?” Red Riding Hood demands, her insecure gaze on the needle.
Yeah, what the hell is that? “Hey! If you turn me into the Hulk, I’ll have your heart for breakfast and bury your balls in a hole in the woods. Just so we’re clear, psycho.”
He throws me a short, demeaning look but talks to the others as he puts the bottle away. “This is a fine-tuned version of my original personality-separating elixir.” He flicks his finger twice against the syringe. “It’ll isolate the good and the evil parts of your friend. I honed it with pixie dust, thus the glitter in the liquid. It makes sure the good side of a person dominates.”
“You hear that, Jack?” Phil turns my way. “Just a short prick and you’ll be good as new.”
I back off from the gate. “Stay away from me.”
“Come on, it’ll be over in a second. And it will make you feel better.”
“I’ll feel a lot better when you open this damn gate.” An odd dizziness sets in. I grab my temples, reeling against the wall. Sheesh! Dark shadows dance on the floor in front of me. “And extinguish that freaking torch,” I snarl. “No one can stay sane in his head with all those wobbling shapes creeping around.”
Leaning my forehead against the cold stone helps to ease the spinning carousel in my head. Deep breaths expand my chest. Yeah, that feels good. Air. Finally. Did somebody try to strangle me? Where am I anyway? A moldy odor creeps up my nose. I glance around. Oh, right, the dungeon. I think I spent the night here.
But who put me here? And why? Isn’t it time to leave?
Turning around, I find three people on the other side of the gate. None of them look familiar. Have they come to visit me? Two knights and a gnome—I don’t think they’re family. Maybe they’re here for someone else. There are probably other vaults in this cellar. Other inhabitants.
The key to my cell hangs on a hook on the wall. If only it wasn’t so far away. I stretch my arm though the gate—nope. Can’t reach it.
“Hey, girl!” I whisper to the one in the red cloak. When her attention slides to me, I point at the brass keyring. “Gimme that.”
She looks at my outstretched arm then back to me with a very sad face.
“Don’t worry,” I comfort her. “I know you’re short, but it’s not as high as it looks. Just stand on your toes and you’ll reach it.” I give her an encouraging smile. “Hurry up.”
“How long will it take until it works, doctor?” the girl asks one of the other guys.
Blasted hell, is she ignoring me? “Hey, girl! The keys!” I order, a little sharper now, waggling my fingers.
“The first effect usually sets in straight away,” says the dark knight with the bush-weed eyebrows. He rises from the floor and walks closer, holding a syringe in his hand.
Whoa! I jerk my arm back inside.
“It’ll knock your friend out for a while. Unfortunately, there’s a small side effect you need to know about,” he continues. “Since this is his first time with the elixir, he might be a little keyed up after he comes to. His body and mind need to adjust. But that will go away after a few hours.”
Oh no! Am I the friend he’s talking about? Panic rises from my gut to my throat. “You want to knock me out?”
“No, we want to help you, Jack,” answers the useless, short scallywag in red.
How can a syringe break this vault open? I would certainly like to know that. “I’m sorry, but I believe you’re mistaken. I don’t know any Jack. You should try a couple cells farther down this corridor. I’m sure you’ll be lucky there. Beware of the giants, though.”
“We’re right where we should be,” the blond knight in the red shirt and white vest speaks up for the first time. He looks exhausted where he’s slumped in the chair by the wall. Wearily, he leans his head back. “Just give the doc your arm. It’ll all be over soon.”
Backing to the far wall of the cell, I stare at them in horror. “Some shit he’ll get from me.”
“Buddy, listen—”
“No, wait,” the dark one cuts off the blond one. “It’s no use talking to him. It appears that he’s already snapped and won’t cooperate.”
“Then what do we do now?” the girl whines, sounding really worried.
“Go home,” I tell her, “and leave the key here.” Hopefully, that will make her happy again. She seems like the nicest of them all.
“I had to give Tarzan a flu shot last week,” the man with the syringe says in a calm voice that I don’t like at all. “He was a difficult patient, too. In the end, I shot a dart at him with a blowtube.”